Sunday, October 27, 2013

October Daring Bakers' Challenge - Savory Pot Pie

This month's Daring Bakers' Challenge was a little different from the norm. Usually the challenges have us baking up all kinds of sweet goodies. Or breads. This month, that wasn't the case.

Hannah of Rise and Shine was our October 2013 Daring Bakers’ hostess and she challenged us to bake our own double crusted savory pot pies. Using any from-scratch crust and filling we choose, we were allowed to get completely creative with our recipe, showing off the savory flavors and fillings from our own home or region.

What fun - a savory baking challenge! I pondered long and hard as to what kind of filling to choose. But I kept coming back to our old standard - chicken pot pie. Yes, yes, I know that there are so many more pot pies, that I really should have been more creative... but we really, really like chicken pot pie. In fact, I've even shared other versions with you before - here, here and here. But what can I say? It's good!

The version I chose to make for this challenge was slightly Mexican inspired. And it started with the prep work - chopping sweet onion, green pepper and pre-cooked chicken.

I made my pot pie completelly dairy free so that little man could enjoy it. Usually, the sauce of a pot pie starts with some kind of roux, which is generally made with a combination of butter and flour. I started by sauteeing the onions and peppers in olive oil, then added a bit more oil, then my flour.

I then poured in chicken stock, which thickened up beautifully with my improvised roux. And then all that was left to do was add in the rest of the goodies - corn kernals, black beans and the chicken.

And for my crust? Sourdough, of course!

And then it's just a matter of putting everything together...

...and baking it up!

It was awesome to see how well the crust baked up on all sides of the pie - golden delicious and crispy on all sides!

But the most important part is how it tasted. And it tasted delicous. Little miss even asked for seconds. Which, if you know seven-year-olds and dinner, is not an everyday occurance.

Hanna, thank you so much for giving me a fun opportunity to make a delicious meal for my family. I hadn't made a pot pie in a while and now I know I'll be making them a lot more often.

To see the challenge as Hannah prepared it, with all of her delicious inspiration recipes, check it out here.

To see the other delicious pot pies baked up in the kitchen this month, check them out here.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour(s), salt and sugar. Add the butter and rub it in with your fingertips until the mixture looks like gravel, with some butter worked in and some 1/4" chunks remaining. Gradually add the starter, folding the mixture with a spoon or your hands until it just starts to come together into large clumps.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide roughly into 8 portions. Fraisage the dough: using the heel of your hand, scrape a portion of dough across the surface. Repeat with the remaining dough. Gather the dough into a ball. Flatten the ball into a disc and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill for at least 30 minutes, and up to a few days. (Or freeze for up to a couple months. Defrost before proceeding.)

Mexican-Inspired Chicken Pot Pie Filling
(made it up as I went along!)

In a large sauce pan, heat one tablespoon of oil over medium high heat. Add chopped onion and and pepper and sautee until softened and fragrant. Season with a touch of salt and pepper. Add remaining oil, then sprinkle in flour. Mix well to fully incorporate the flour. The mixture will be thick, almost like a paste. This is okay.
Pour in the chicken stock and mix it well until there are no lumps from the flour.
Stir in the corn, black beans and chicken. Season to taste with your spices.
Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the salsa.
Allow the mixture to cool.

To prepare the pot pie:
When you are ready to proceed with your pie, preheat your oven to 375 degrees and remove the dough from the fridge. If it is very firm, you may need to let it soften at room temp for 15 minutes or so. On a lightly floured surface, roll half the dough out into a round large enough to line the bottom of the dish you are using for your pot pie. I used a 1 1/2 quart casserike dish. Fit the crust into the pie pan leaving a slight overhang.

Pour cooled filling into the prepared bottom crust.

Roll the remaining dough into a round just slightly larger than the dish and place it on top of the filling. Trim the bottom crust to approximately the size of the top crust, tuck the edges under all the way around and crimp the edges (with a form or your fingers - whatever look you are going for). Cut a few vent slits in the top crust.

Oh sourdough crust!!I really wanted to make one but I sort of did this challenge 2 days before reveal day and I could not afford to be adventurousI love everything about your pot pie Shelley, beautifully done!